1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle-mounted sound generator for emitting a warning sound, particularly to warn nearby pedestrians.
2. Background Art
The number of electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) on the road is increasing. During electric-only operation, EVs and HEVs emit less running noise than a vehicle operating under power from an internal combustion engine. Although it is desirable to limit noise pollution, such quiet operation can be problematic to pedestrians, particularly pedestrians who have compromised eyesight. Providing an onboard speaker system to increase the total sound level from the vehicle has been previously proposed. The intensity of the sound provided by the speaker system is selected so that the vehicle is very likely to be heard regardless of other environmental factors. A problem with such an approach is that the sound intensity is more than necessary for many conditions. Higher than necessary sound intensity exacerbates sound pollution and is distracting and annoying to the driver of the vehicle and others in the vicinity of the vehicle who are not the target of the warning.